Rich Harden and Aaron Heilman will stay with the Chicago Cubs  —  The waiver period for trades before the Sept. 1 roster deadline will come and go without the Chicago Cubs having made a deal, according to Major League Baseball sources.  —  Rich Harden, claimed by the Minnesota Twins …

Kazmir, Mulder Reconnect With Rick Peterson to Get Pitching Delivery Back in Form  —  In baseball, once a player or coach moves on to a different organization, that usually spells the end of the player/coach relationship.  When Rick Peterson's cell phone rang one June day, he was surprised to hear Scott Kazmir's voice.

Perrotto: Yanks want Damon back for one year  —  While we still have a month left of regular season baseball and, hopefully, a few weeks of October play in the Bronx, nothing dominates the conversation quite like the Hot Stove League does.  In his latest weekend roundup, John Perrotto drops in a bit about the Yankees and Johnny Damon:

Looking ahead to tomorrow  —  I have to take a furlough day on Monday.  These things have become pretty standard at newspaper's these days, and for whatever reason I wound up with one the day before September call-ups.  I'm not allowed to write or report on Monday, so I wrote this on Sunday night and set it to post this morning.

Royals set to extend Moore's contract through 2014  —  The Royals have reached a tentative agreement with general manager Dayton Moore on a four-year contract extension that runs through 2014.  —  The new deal could be announced as soon as tonight.  —  The move confirms owner David Glass' belief …

Surfing The Mets  —  On SIRIUS XM Radio's MLB Home Plate channel, ex-Met GM Jim Duquette reported the Mets canceled their fall instructional league for minor leaguers in an apparent cost-saving maneuver.  —  “There's a lot of talk and I believe this is information that has not gotten out,” said Duquette, the show's host.

Girardi manages to turn around Yankees  —  Buzz up!  —  On May 12, following a 5-1 loss to Toronto, the New York Yankees found themselves 6½ games out of first place.  They were a few losses from a tabloid calling for the head of manager Joe Girardi.  He was the easy fall guy.

On criticism and Joba  —  Yesterday, when Joba left the game after throwing just three innings and 35 pitches, the Internet was abuzz with criticism of the Yankees plan.  Andrew Fletcher of Scott Proctor's Arm called the move “utterly moronic” on his Twitter feed.

Penny clears waivers, inks with Giants  —  Brad Penny went unclaimed on waivers and is a free agent as of this afternoon, sources said.  The Giants, Marlins, Yankees and Twins are among several teams interested in signing him as a free agent.

Nats Trade Belliard To Dodgers  —  Minutes after playing in his final game with the Washington Nationals, Ronnie Belliard stood in the losing clubhouse — no longer his clubhouse — and weighed his emotions.  He recognized the good and the bad, he said.  He was heading into the thick of a playoff race …

Dash of pepper can add spice  —  The old-time game of “pepper” may be making a comeback.  Once an integral part of pregame practice, it faded away some 20 years ago, but the Seattle Mariners are reviving it.  —  Pepper was a great exercise.  A batter would face several fielders lined up 20 feet away.

Tejada denies he tipped pitches  —  NY Times says then A's shortstop helped foes in 2001  —  PHOENIX — All-Star shortstop Miguel Tejada said on Sunday that he never tipped pitches to his Dominican contemporaries on opposing teams, not as a member of the A's, Orioles or Astros, his current employer.

On Baseball: Dear Mets, we miss you  —  September arrives this week and something feels different on the local baseball scene.  —  No New York Mets.  —  The Phillies entered the last two Septembers chasing their neighbors to the north, but this year the Mets are an afterthought in the National League East.

Bullpen stellar as bats down ChiSox 8-3  —  Welcome to the Year of Joba.  The Yankees have a good, young pitcher on an innings limit, and as the team hasn't seen one of those since innings limits became all the rage, every start — nay, every pitch — brings it with intense scrutiny and fan overreaction.

Pitching Phenom Arrives  —  Strasburg Makes His Long-Anticipated Debut With Nationals Organization  —  Twelve days, 9 hours and 40 minutes after Stephen Strasburg agreed to his record $15.1 million contract, he squinted into the searing Florida sun, cranked his arm back slightly and tossed …